Rivalry in Dixie?

[EasyEagle]

In the good old days, we had MSU and Ole Piss as our so called "Rivals", but once they took their balls and said they wouldn't play us any more, we evolved to Memphis and Tulane. Louisville and ECU were big rivals for some time and then there was the heated but short lived series with Houston. Now....I'm at a loss. I guess the only school we can look at is La. Tech. They are the only team in the conference we have played more than a dozen times. Our record in 46 games vs the Bulldogs stands at 31-15. The only other teams in the conference we have played double digit games against are Marshall (5-6) and North Texas (6-4).

Compare that to 63 games vs Memphis! Our record vs the Tigers is 40-22-1. I miss the Black and Blue Bowl! Also, Tulane and the rivalry we were trying to create was coming along pretty well. We have only played 30 games against The Green Wave, but the Battle for the Bell record was 23-7 in favor of the Eagles. And, while the ECU series didn't have a "name", the series was intense and always hard fought. In the 39 games played, Southern Miss stands at 27-12

So, going forward, will the La. Tech series become a real rivalry? I've never felt it, as the two teams have only met 12 times in the last 35 years! In looking up the series, I found this article on Wikapedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rivalry_in_Dixie
I never knew there was a "name" for this game. "Rivalry in Dixie" doesn't exactly roll off the tongue. I guess there is hope this one will return to a more prominent series. Hopefully the Eagles will continue to have success as will Tech. We NEED a rival game to end each season. It adds tradition and excitement to the season. Here's to Southern Miss winning the 2015 version of the RIVALRY IN DIXIE!

 

[Houston Eagle]

They defeated USM the week after USM beat Bama in '82. I'll tell you what USM has always found a way to lose after winning big....

 

[Wonder Boy Eagle]

I saw two years ago that it was called the Rivalry in Dixie and asked sports marketing if they were going to promote it that way. They did some promos with that title. I like it.

 

[SethManKA1]

I personally never wanted a rivalry with them. I just don't care for Tech their attitude and mentality is just not appealing to me. But they are in the conference so I hope we play a solid game on all sides of the ball!

 

[hercules88]

Maxie Lambright was the one who called it "Rivalry in Dixie"

 

[cajun eagle]

Maxie Lambright was the one who called it "Rivalry in Dixie"

The La Tech people to my knowledge are the only ones who coined and use that term but also very little because of the long lapse in time between ending the series back about 1990 and not resuming until 2-3yrs ago. Heck, our current students werent even born back at the time we played regularly. I dont have any objections one way or the other but the only similarity between us and Tech is that we share the same league at present. Our student body is twice their size, our university budget is more than twice their size, our fans support the usm program whereby they rely heavily on school suppliments, and on and on. Take note, if you visit Ruston next week, of their tailgating, game day atmosphere, etc. compared to a day at the Rock. Is that what we want of a rival?

 

[BR Eagle]

I love what former Tech Sonny Dykes said, "If you see someone wearing a LaTech shirt, they probably went to Tech....if you see someone wearing an LSU shirt, they probably went to Wal-Mart." Same could have been said about Southern Miss....